Requirements for a Change of Building Use in Korea — Facility Groups and Target-Use Standards

A change of building use in Korea is the procedure for converting a building that has already received approval for use into a different use. The most common mistake in practice is to start from the question "what is our building classified as?" Under the Building Act the requirement runs the other way: it starts from what the use you are moving into demands.

The procedure applies to a building that has already obtained approval for use under Article 22 of the Building Act; at the construction stage the question is instead which use to declare in the building permit. This guide follows the current Building Act (Act No. 21035, in force 27 February 2026), its Enforcement Decree (Presidential Decree No. 36587, in force 18 September 2026) and Table 1 of that Decree.

The Target Use Sets the Requirement

Article 19(1) of the Building Act states the requirement in a single sentence, and that sentence is the baseline for everything that follows.

Those standards are not confined to the Building Act. Article 19(7) applies, by analogy, the provisions on site safety, structural stability, evacuation facilities and fire compartments, fireproof structures and fire walls, finishing materials and lifts, together with Article 15 of the Green Buildings Construction Support Act and Article 54 of the National Land Planning and Utilisation Act. A change of use is therefore not a paperwork swap but a review of whether the building meets the standards of its new use. Where an existing building has become non-conforming because legislation was amended, a change of use may still be made under the municipal building ordinance.

Facility Groups Decide Permit or Report

Anyone seeking to change the use of a building that has received approval for use must obtain a permit from, or file a report with, the Special Self-Governing City Mayor, the Special Self-Governing Province Governor, or the head of the si, gun or gu. Which of the two applies turns solely on the numbering of the facility groups.

"Upper group" does not mean a higher class of facility: the Act defines it as a facility group bearing a smaller number among the subparagraphs of Article 19(4). The test is arithmetic, not intuitive. An office in the neighbourhood living facility group (subparagraph 7) becoming lodging in the business facility group (subparagraph 5) moves to a smaller number and needs a permit; the reverse needs only a report.

Mixed uses are provided for too: an owner may apply with two or more uses, but the authority may allow them only where every one conforms to the building and siting standards of the Act and related statutes. If one use fails, the whole application fails. Once the classification is settled, the form and attachments follow the Ordinance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; the competent authority is the same in all three cases.

The Nine Facility Groups

Article 19(4) sets out nine facility groups and Article 14(5) of the Decree assigns the detailed uses. This is the reference table for every classification decision.

The entry worth noting is the multi-unit living facility (gosiwon): although it sits within class II neighbourhood living facilities, the Decree places it in the business facility group. Converting an office into a gosiwon is therefore an upper-group move requiring a permit.

Uses Excluded From the Exemption

A change within the same facility group is handled by amending the entry in the building register. The proviso to Article 19(3) goes further: changes prescribed by Presidential Decree need not even be applied for, and Article 14(4) of the Decree lists two — changes within the same subparagraph of Table 1, and changes between class I and class II neighbourhood living facilities within applicable use restrictions. The proviso to that paragraph then pulls the uses below back out of the exemption, so those need an application even within the same subparagraph.

Read this table together with the floor-area thresholds that change a use by themselves. A refreshment or bakery outlet is class I while the aggregate floor area used for it in the same building stays under 300 square metres, and class II at or above. A danran bar is class II under 150 square metres but an amusement facility above it, moving up into the culture and assembly group — which is how expanding a shop floor becomes grounds for a permit.

What the New Use Demands

What usually blocks a change of use is not Article 19 itself but the standards it applies by analogy. Zoning comes first: under Article 54 of the National Land Planning and Utilisation Act the use must be permitted in the relevant zone, and a use prohibited by ordinance is impossible whatever the building's condition. Evacuation and fire provisions come next, and these are what basements and windowless floors most often fail. Structural stability matters where loading changes, as when a warehouse becomes retail. Parking requirements move with the use, and a shortfall stops the permit.

Checking these means reading drawings against the site. Registers and drawings come from Seumteo, and the statutes themselves from the Building Act and the Building Act Enforcement Decree on the National Law Information Center.

Approval for Use and Penalties

Where a permit or report is required and the aggregate floor area being converted is 100 square metres or more, the approval-for-use provisions apply — unless that aggregate is under 500 square metres with no major repair work. At 500 square metres or more under a permit, Article 23 applies to the design, so a licensed architect must prepare it; a single-storey livestock shed becoming a factory is excluded where no extension, reconstruction or major repair is involved.

Skipping the procedure attracts sanctions on two tracks. The permitting authority may revoke a permit, or order the owner or contractor to stop work or to carry out demolition, a change of use or a ban on use, and may request that business permits under other statutes be withheld. Continued non-compliance attracts an enforcement fine, increased by ordinance where the violation was for profit or habitual.

Criminal liability applies separately. Under Article 108(1)1 of the Building Act, an owner or contractor who changes the use of a building in an urban area in violation of Article 19(1) or (2) faces imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to KRW 500 million, and imprisonment and the fine may be imposed concurrently. "We only changed the signage" and "the tenant handled it" are not defences. Costs vary case by case and are explained precisely during the free consultation.

Yuseon Administrative Scrivener Office (Chief Scrivener Jeong Yuseon) · Based on the Building Act (Act No. 21035, in force 27 February 2026), its Enforcement Decree (Presidential Decree No. 36587) and Table 1 · Last reviewed 25 September